That quote from (what else) The Simpsons may be going a bit too far. Here's a better statement, which could serve as our mission statement here at TV Watchers:

Television used to be dismissed by elitists as the idiot box, a sea of mediocrity that drowns thought and intelligent debate. Now people who ignore its pools and eddies of excellence do so at their own peril.

It comes from the New York Times' Allessandra Stanley, who has a great piece on "TV as literature." Read it here, and come back here tonight for our take on the season premiere of Heroes.